Background:

Unloading a ship filled with ammonium nitrate bags can take up to 60 hours. It involves a significant amount of critical paperwork to manage the unloading process, especially when materials must be distributed to multiple storage locations.

Challenge:

Data was being captured manually on paper during the unloading process. It took on average 14+ hours to copy data into a spreadsheet, validate it, and then re-enter it into two different warehousing systems. Final stock quantities for each storage location were only confirmed to the customer over a week later, and by then the stock had already moved. Arrowtail was given the challenge to develop an easy-to-use tool to manage the entire ship unloading process.

Solution:

The Arrowtail team reviewed the existing process and paperwork, then designed a transaction in Arrowtail to allow real-time processing of transfers from the port. Users now use a single transaction to capture all critical information using a mobile device. Real time data is displayed on a port dashboard, which can be accessed by all stakeholders. Data can be easily shared and uploaded into any system. The customer is now considering full integration with existing systems.

Benefit:

With Arrowtail, there is no longer double handling of data, and the process is validated in real time. We further enhanced the process by being able to give users critical information such as bags remaining on the ship, bags transferred to each location, and the unloading rate. Beyond that, each storage location was given the ability to either accept or dispute received deliveries and capture demurrage details, thus providing further validation of captured data.